ICC investigating SIX allegations of corruption at T10 competition in Abu Dhabi

[sage]

SPORTSMAIL INVESTIGATION: ICC investigating SIX allegations of corruption at T10 competition in Abu Dhabi... with unusual betting activity, batsmen accused of giving wickets away and some England stars have not been paid

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-11607897/SPORTSMAIL-INVESTIGATION-ICC-investigating-SIX-allegations-corruption-T10-competition.html

 

• The ICC are probing six corruption allegations at Abu Dhabi T10 competition
• Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Alex Hales and Dawid Malan took part in the event
• There is no suggestion any of the allegations involve the England players 
• The probe is understood to focus on the unusual level of betting activity
• The ICC has received reports of questionable activity around the teams 
• Some of the England internationals who took part have not been paid 

 

Sportsmail can also reveal that some of the 16 England internationals who took part have yet to receive the final instalment of competition fees that range from £10,000 to £50,000, four weeks after the tournament finished.

One owner tried to terminate the contract of an England international the day before he was scheduled to join up with his franchise, for unknown reasons.

At least one Indian player had his wages paid by the league rather than his franchise.

 

‘The term spot-fixing is widely used, but that’s a misnomer. No one is betting on individual moments. A more common bet is the number of runs scored in a powerplay or the first over of the game, for example, so the fixers target the opening bowlers.

‘Typically they would be asked to concede between 12 and 15 runs in the first over.

‘Alternatively, fixers target the opening batters and ask for a slow start, after which they can get on with the game. This is how the corruption works. No one is fixing entire matches.

‘The inducements offered to fix vary from around £3,000 for games in Europe, to between £10,000 and £30,000 in the UAE. There was more noise around Abu Dhabi than usual this year, but not all of it is necessarily corruption. We had reports of strange goings-on in some teams, owners demanding that their son played, owners trying to influence the captain.

 

AADAM PATEL: I see the same faces in the stands using multiple phones... then later in player's hotels 

 

Inside the 20,000-capacity stadium are crowds of a few hundred at most. For the earlier games, there are more staff than spectators and even though tickets are roughly £3, it is left to organisers to bring in labourers from the nearby industrial area of Musaffah after they finish work to fill up the seats and create some atmosphere for the television coverage beamed around the world.

The workers are herded together and brought in by dozens of coaches as the evening rolls on. Speaking to them, many reveal they are offered free meals in return for their time at the cricket.

But these spectators are not the ones who raise my eyebrows. Scattered across the stands are men, predominantly from Asia, using multiple phones, earphones plugged in, relaying every bit of the action down the line. I meet men from Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Dhaka, and while some are too busy or simply unwilling to speak, a few speak up, bragging about how easy it is to make money.

One man gets angry because I am ‘asking too many questions’, but I still see him at every match, at the top of the stands, trying to keep out of view.

This is their job, being sent around the globe by people back in India. Just like players on the freelance white-ball franchise circuit, they travel thousands of miles ensuring they get their slice of the pie.

Some of these men are ‘pitch-siding’, where live events are communicated to someone who can influence the betting market in real time before the TV coverage catches up. But others are there to ensure orders are followed. Sometimes these people know which players are being controlled and they know the script. They are looking out for pre-arranged signs — such as a batsman removing his helmet or a glove — to signal that the fix is on.

In numerous off-the-record conversations, I hear about players being approached in hotels and bars.

I see the same faces from the stands — the men with their multiple phones — sitting in the lobbies of the players’ hotels, at the swimming pool and loitering around the bars in the evening. They know exactly which teams are staying where.

I speak with players, coaches and others involved with franchises, and many admit to having their suspicions about the tournament they are involved in. ‘It’s a circus and we’re all dancing monkeys,’ as one player puts it.

But all are cautious at the implications of raising their concerns officially, due to either the loss of future opportunities or potential threats. Sometimes both. It is not difficult to meet players or even find out their room numbers. Some players speak to me about people approaching them in hotels and being sent strange messages on social media. Others are certain that their team-mates are involved in suspicious activity but admit that it would be too risky to accuse anyone without evidence.

Remember, we are talking about contracts which can be worth £50,000 for a couple of weeks’ work in the winter sun, with all expenses paid at a five-star hotel. And cricketers have a relatively short career.

This is cricket without consequence. It is a routine of golf, cricket, sleep, repeat.

For the younger players, it is more alluring than a winter of indoor nets. It is the easiest money many of them will ever make. So the silence about corruption is no surprise.

But the stories are endless: players being paid in cash and having to hide it in their pads when they bring it back to their countries. Others still chasing payments from years gone by.

As the tournament ends, one of the gentlemen I meet in the stands tells me he is flying to Sri Lanka, where the Lanka Premier League takes place, but that he will be back in the UAE on January 13.

[Akinolas866]

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Edited March 26, 2023 by Akinolas866

[Zero_Unit]

if it wasn't obvious, this whole tournament was probably set up for betting lol.